CN116057967A

CN116057967A - Allocation configuration for transmitting positioning data

Info

Publication number: CN116057967A
Application number: CN202180058783.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: A·贝里格伦; B·帕利延多; J·希尔; 黄晟峰
Original assignee: Sony Group Corp
Current assignee: Sony Group Corp
Priority date: 2020-08-07
Filing date: 2021-07-14
Publication date: 2023-05-02
Also published as: EP4193760A1; US20230275718A1; WO2022028834A1

Abstract

According to an aspect, there is provided a method of operating a wireless communication device (UE) to provide positioning data for determining a position estimate of the UE, the UE being connected to a communication network via a radio link, the method comprising the steps of: receiving AN allocation configuration of one or more predetermined resources for transmitting positioning data from AN access node AN of a communication network; obtaining a location request message for providing positioning data from a location server node (LS); and transmitting positioning data in response to the location request message over the radio link. According to further aspects, a method of operating an access node, a method of operating a location server node, a wireless communication device, an access node and a location server node are provided.

Description

Allocation configuration for transmitting positioning data

Technical Field

Examples relate generally to the transmission of positioning data.

Background

Mobile devices (sometimes also referred to as user equipment; UEs), such as wireless communication devices, provide various use cases. One use case is wireless communication. Another use is the positioning of the UE.

To facilitate positioning of the UE, polygonal measurement or triangulation techniques may be employed. One example of a multilateral measurement is trilateration. Here, a plurality of Access Nodes (AN) having well-defined positions in a reference frame transmit positioning signals (also referred to as positioning reference signals, PRSs). The UE may receive PRSs; then, a multilateration or triangulation may be performed. One particular positioning technique is observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA).

OTDOA is particularly deployed in third generation partnership project (3 GPP) cellular networks, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G or New Radio (NR) 5G protocols. Here, the UE may receive PRS from a plurality of Base Stations (BSs) or transmission/reception points (TRPs) implementing AN and then perform time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements. The TDOA measurements in the form of Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) reports are sent from the UE to a Location Server (LS) using a positioning protocol (LPP). This is via a 3GPP Radio Access Network (RAN). The LS then performs a positioning estimation based on the at least two or at least three resulting multilateration and/or triangulation of the TDOA measurements. See 3GPP Technical Report (TS) 38.305 V16.0.0 (2020-03), section 6.2.4.3.3.

Many regulatory and business use cases require obtaining a position estimate of a wireless communication device (UE) connected to a communication network via a radio link. Various positioning techniques are known to support these known management and business cases. For example, a location server node (LS) of the communication network may trigger the wireless communication device to perform location measurements. Performing positioning measurements may include: a positioning reference signal is received from one or more Access Nodes (AN) of a communication network. Once the UE has performed the measurements and collected the location measurement reports, the UE must send the location measurement reports back to the LS. Heretofore, a UE sends AN uplink Scheduling Request (SR) to AN Access Node (AN) that connects the UE to a communication network. The AN that connects the UE to the communication network may also be referred to as a serving AN. The serving AN then sends back AN uplink grant in a downlink control channel (PDCCH). Thereafter, the UE may send a positioning measurement report to the AN on AN uplink data channel (PUSCH). The AN then forwards the measurement report to the LS.

Disclosure of Invention

It may be desirable to reduce the latency between the triggering provided by the LS to perform the location measurement and the acquisition of the measurement report by the LS.

The need is addressed by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous examples are described in the dependent claims.

According to a first aspect, there is provided a method of operating a wireless communication device (UE) to provide positioning data for determining a position estimate of the UE, the UE being connected to a communication network via a radio link, the method comprising the steps of: receiving AN allocation configuration for transmitting positioning data of one or more predetermined resources from AN Access Node (AN) of a communication network; obtaining a location request message for providing positioning data from a location server node (LS); and transmitting positioning data in response to the location request message over the radio link.

According to a second aspect, there is provided a method of operating AN Access Node (AN) of a communication network, a wireless communication device (UE) being connected to the communication network via a radio link between the AN and the UE, the method comprising the steps of: an allocation configuration for transmitting positioning data of one or more predetermined resources is transmitted to the UE on the radio link.

According to a third aspect, there is provided a method of operating a location server node (LS) of a communication network to obtain positioning data from a wireless communication device (UE), the UE being connected to the communication network via a radio link, the positioning data being used to determine a location estimate for the UE, the method comprising the steps of: a location request message for providing positioning data is provided to the UE, wherein the location request message includes a low latency indication.

According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a wireless communication apparatus (UE) comprising: interface circuitry, memory circuitry, processing circuitry, the interface circuitry to connect a UE to a communication network via a radio link, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: receiving AN allocation configuration for transmitting positioning data of one or more predetermined resources from AN Access Node (AN) of a communication network; obtaining a location request message for providing positioning data from a location server node (LS); and transmitting positioning data in response to the location request message over the radio link.

According to a fifth aspect, there is provided AN Access Node (AN), the AN comprising: interface circuitry for communicating within a communication network and for communicating with a wireless communication device (UE) via a radio link, memory circuitry, processing circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: an allocation configuration (244) for transmitting positioning data (231) of one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432;531, 532, 533) is transmitted to the UE (201) over the radio link (105).

According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a location server node (LS), the LS comprising: interface circuitry, memory circuitry, processing circuitry, the interface circuitry for communicating within a communication network, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: a location request message for providing positioning data is provided to a wireless communication device (UE), wherein the location request message includes a low latency indication.

It is to be understood that the features mentioned above and those yet to be explained below can be used not only in the respective combination indicated, but also in other combinations or in isolation, without departing from the scope of the invention.

Drawings

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a communication network;

FIG. 2 is a signaling diagram illustrating a method for determining a position estimate;

FIG. 3 illustrates resources for transmitting positioning data;

FIG. 4 illustrates resources for transmitting positioning data;

FIG. 5 illustrates resources for transmitting positioning data; and

fig. 6 is a signaling diagram illustrating a method for determining a position estimate.

Detailed Description

Some examples are generally provided for a plurality of circuits or other electrical devices. All references to circuitry and other electrical devices, and the functionality provided by each, are not intended to be limited to only what is shown and described herein. While specific tags may be assigned to the various circuits or other electrical devices disclosed, such tags are not intended to limit the operating range of the circuits and other electrical devices. Such circuits and other electrical devices may be combined with and/or separated from each other in any manner based on the particular type of electrical implementation desired. It is recognized that any of the circuits or other electrical devices disclosed herein may comprise any number of microcontrollers, graphics Processor Units (GPUs), integrated circuits, memory devices (e.g., FLASH, random Access Memory (RAM)), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or other suitable variations thereof, and software that cooperate with each other to perform the operations disclosed herein. Additionally, any one or more of the electrical devices may be configured to execute program code embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium that is programmed to perform any number of the disclosed functions.

Hereinafter, examples of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the following description of the examples is not to be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the present disclosure is not intended to be limited by the examples described below or by the drawings, which are to be regarded as illustrative only.

The drawings are to be regarded as schematic representations and elements illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily shown to scale. Rather, the various elements are shown so that their function and general purpose will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Any connection or coupling between functional blocks, devices, components, or other physical or functional units shown in the figures or described herein may also be achieved by indirect connection or coupling. The coupling between the components may also be established through a wireless connection. The functional blocks may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of these.

Fig. 1 schematically depicts a communication network 104 and a UE 101 connected to AN 102 of the communication network 104 via a radio link 105. The UE 101 includes a processing circuit 171 operatively connected to a memory circuit 161 and an interface circuit 181. The processing circuit 171 may be configured to perform the exemplary methods as described herein. The interface circuit 181 of the UE 101 and the interface circuit 182 of the AN 102 may allow communication over the radio channel 105. The AN 102 includes processing circuitry 172 operatively connected to interface circuitry 182 and memory circuitry 162 for performing the exemplary methods described herein. The interface circuit 182 may be directly or indirectly connected to the interface circuit 183 of the LS 103. The processing circuit 173 of the LS 103 may be operably connected to the interface circuit 183 and the memory circuit 163 for performing the exemplary methods described herein.

LS may use NRPPa (NR positioning protocol A) protocol and LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) respectively to communicate with, for example, AN and/or a UE. The LS may determine/estimate the location (or position) of the UE. For simplicity, various scenarios are described below with reference to a communication network implemented through a cellular network. The cellular network comprises a plurality of cells. Each cell corresponds to a respective sub-area of the overall coverage area. Other example implementations include Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) WLAN networks, multewire, and the like.

Fig. 2 is a signaling diagram used to illustrate AN exemplary method of operating a UE 201, AN 202, and/or LS 203. According to an example, there is provided a method of operating a UE 201, the method comprising the steps of: AN allocation configuration 244 for transmitting positioning data for one or more predetermined resources is received from AN 202. Further, the UE 201 receives a location request message 246 from the LS 203 for requesting to provide positioning data. In response to the location request message 246, the ue 201 transmits the positioning data 231 over the radio link. The location request message 246 may contain a low latency indication. The UE 201 may transmit the positioning data 231 using one or more of the one or more predetermined resources.

The AN 202 may be a base station of a RAN. In AN example, AN 202 may be a gNB or a transmission/reception point (TRP) according to the 3gpp 5g protocol. The AN 202 may also be AN eNB according to the 3gpp 4g protocol. In other examples, AN 202 may be AN access point.

In examples described herein, a wireless communication device (UE) may be a user equipment (e.g., mobile phone, smartphone, tablet, laptop). Wireless communication devices may also refer to other devices and appliances (e.g., sensors, controllers, actuators) used within the internet of things (IoT).

The positioning data 231 may comprise measurement data derived from the positioning reference signals 211, 212, 213. Alternatively, or in addition, the positioning related data may comprise position estimates derived by different means. For example, the positioning related data 231 may include a position estimate obtained by using a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).

In contrast to conventional approaches, the present disclosure avoids sending dedicated scheduling requests 291 and corresponding uplink grants 292. The proposed method is based on the idea that the AN 202 can be aware that the UE has to provide positioning data 231 and can provide in advance AN allocation configuration for transmitting positioning data of one or more predetermined resources without a dedicated scheduling request 291. In particular, if the location request message 246 contains a low latency indication, the UE 201 may use one or more of the one or more predetermined resources.

The predetermined resources may refer to resources designated before the predetermined resources are actually allocated by the AN. For example, according to fig. 2, the predetermined resources are designated before the positioning reference signal is transmitted to the UE. In AN example, the predetermined resources may be specified before the UE or AN is aware that positioning data is to be provided. The reservation may refer to resources specified before the AN receives a request for allocation of resources.

UE 201 may receive allocation configuration 244 prior to obtaining location request message 246. For example, UE 201 may receive allocation configuration 244 when connected to AN 202. In other examples, such as the example according to fig. 6 discussed further below, UE 201 may receive the allocation configuration after obtaining location request message 246.

The location request message 246 may include an indication of the one or more predetermined resources. Thus, the LS 203 may specify which predetermined resources should be actually used by the UE 201 to transmit positioning data.

In other examples, location request message 246 may include an indication that predetermined resources configured according to the allocation are not to be used. Thus, although UE 201 has received allocation configuration 244, UE 201 may send dedicated scheduling request 291 and receive corresponding uplink grant 292 for sending positioning data 231. This may be advantageous in situations where low latency is not critical and it is desirable to use predetermined resources for transmitting positioning data according to allocation configuration 244 for different purposes.

In an example, the one or more predetermined resources may be selected from the one or more predetermined resources specified by allocation configuration 244 based on one or more predetermined criteria.

The predetermined criteria may include at least one of: the type of positioning data, the size of the positioning data, the latency requirements of the positioning data, and the positioning accuracy of the positioning data.

For example, if the positioning data comprises a position measurement, different resources may be used than if the positioning data comprises a position estimate.

Fig. 3-5 illustrate

exemplary resources

331, 431, 432, 531, 532, 533 that may be used to transmit positioning data. According to the example shown in fig. 3, after the UE 201 monitors the positioning occasion (or occasions) 310 of the positioning reference signals 311, 312, 313, a resource 331 for transmitting positioning data is provided. Fig. 4 and 5 illustrate that more than one

predefined resource

431, 432, 531, 532, 533 may be provided. According to fig. 4, more than one

predetermined resource

431, 432 may be provided in different frequency domains. Alternatively, more than one

predetermined resource

531, 532, 533 may be provided in different time domains. It is also conceivable to provide more than one predetermined resource in different time and frequency domains.

Resource 431 is provided in a frequency domain other than the frequency domain where resource 432 is present. Providing the

resources

431, 432 in different frequency domains may refer to providing the

resources

431, 432 in different frequency bands. Providing

resources

431 and 432 in different frequency domains may also refer to providing

resources

431, 432 within different Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs), e.g., different PRBs specified by the 3gpp 5g protocol. Thus, in the case where the size of the positioning data 231 is large, the predetermined standard may prescribe the use of the previous resource 431.

In case the type of positioning data 231 is measurement data derived from the positioning reference signals 211, 212, 213, the UE 201 may use all

predefined resources

531, 532, 533 to send measurement results related to the most recent positioning reference signals 211, 212, 213.

If positioning data 231 with higher positioning accuracy is to be provided by the UE 201, the UE 201 may use the

predetermined resources

531, 532, 533 only when sufficient measurement data has been obtained. For example, the UE may send the positioning data 231 using only the last resource 533. In case the UE also has other uplink data to send (e.g. legacy data transmission), the UE should prioritize or send the positioning related

data

231, 631 using only the

resources

331, 431, 432, 531, 532, 533.

In some examples, the location request message 246 may include an indication of one or more location measurements associated with the location data 231. For example, the location request message 246 may specify that the UE 231 is to perform location measurements based on the received location reference signals 211, 212, 213.

Allocation configuration 244 may include an indication of the one or more predetermined resources for at least one of the other resources used to send location request message 246 over the radio link. In an example, the predetermined resource is expressed in relation to a positioning occasion in which the UE 201 monitors positioning reference signals. In particular, the one or more predetermined resources may be given relative to a first subframe of a positioning occasion and/or a last subframe of a positioning occasion. The relationship may be a time offset and/or a frequency offset relative to one of the aforementioned references.

In some examples, the UE 201 may provide an indication 241 to the LS 203 indicating that the UE 201 is capable of: AN allocation configuration 244 for transmitting positioning data, which receives one or more predetermined resources from the AN 202, and a location request message 246 for providing positioning data 231, which is obtained from the LS 203. The UE 201 may inform the LS 203 that the UE is capable of performing one of the proposed methods. Alternatively, or in addition, the UE 201 may provide AN indication to the AN 202 that the UE 201 is capable of: AN allocation configuration 244 for transmitting positioning data, which receives one or more predetermined resources from AN 202, and a location request message (not shown) from LS 203. The AN 202 may provide a signal 242 to the LS 203 indicating the configuration of positioning reference signals 211, 212, 213 to be later transmitted to the UE 201. The LS may utilize the signal 243 to send the configuration of the positioning reference signals 211, 212, 213 to the UE 201.

Signals

242 and 243 may correspond to signals used according to conventional methods.

The proposed method may particularly provide for: between obtaining the location request message and transmitting the positioning data, no uplink grant 292 is received that allocates resources for transmitting the positioning data and/or no uplink scheduling request 291 for resources for transmitting the positioning data is transmitted.

The AN 202 may send AN allocation configuration 247 to the LS 203. Allocation configuration 247 may be substantially similar to allocation configuration 244 sent by AN 202 to UE 201. Thus, the LS 203 may be made aware of the predetermined resources that the UE 201 may use to transmit the positioning related data 231. Thus, LS 203 may choose to: which one or more of the one or more predetermined resources the UE 201 is to select to send the positioning related data 231.

The allocation configuration 244 sent by the AN 202 to the UE 201 may explicitly recite detailed parameters of the predetermined resources, whereas the allocation configuration 244 sent by the AN 202 to the LS 203 may only include parameters indicating the corresponding predetermined resources, e.g. AN index that may have to be interpreted by the LS 203 to find the actual detailed parameters.

The AN 202 may allocate the one or more

predetermined resources

331, 431, 432, 531, 532, 533. Thus, the AN 202 can monitor the reception of the positioning related data 231 on the one or more

predetermined resources

331, 431, 432, 531, 532, 533.

In some examples, an 202 may allocate one or more of the predetermined resources in response to receiving an allocation request message 245 from LS 203. Thus, the LS 203 can determine which predetermined resources the AN 202 is to allocate. Moreover, the LS 203 may only provide the allocation request message 245 to the AN 202 along with (slightly before or slightly after) the location request message 246 to the UE 201.

In response to receiving the positioning data 231, the an 202 may again deallocate the allocated one or more predetermined resources. This may allow the AN to allocate resources for different purposes. For example, the deallocated resources may be used for ordinary data transmission and/or by different UEs.

Fig. 6 shows a signaling diagram illustrating a further example of the proposed method. The UE 601 may use the signal 641 to indicate the capabilities of the UE to the LS 603. The LS 603 may obtain a configuration 642 of positioning reference signals 611, 612, 613 and provide the configuration 643 of positioning reference signals 611, 612, 613 to the UE 601. The LS 603 may then provide a location request message 646 to the UE 601 and AN allocation request message 645 to the AN 602. The UE 601 may measure positioning reference signals 611, 612, 613. After having transmitted the positioning reference signals 611, 612, 613, the AN 602 may transmit AN allocation configuration 644 to the UE 601, and the UE 601 may transmit positioning data 631 on one or more of the one or more predetermined resources according to the allocation configuration. Transmitting the allocation configuration 644 after locating the reference signals 611, 612, 613 may allow for greater flexibility in managing resources by the AN 602. Transmitting the allocation configuration 244 prior to transmitting the positioning reference signals 611, 612, 613 may allow the same allocation configuration 244 to be used for multiple positioning occasions. Also, in the example of fig. 2, less time may elapse between measuring the positioning reference signals 211, 212, 213 and transmitting the results as positioning data 231, since the required resources have been predefined.

In the examples shown in fig. 2 and 6, the positioning reference signals 211, 212, 213, 611, 612, 613 are transmitted by the same AN 202, AN 602 that transmits the

allocation configuration

244, 644 for the sake of simplicity. Typically, the

UE

201, 601 will receive positioning reference signals from multiple ANs. Receiving positioning reference signals from multiple ANs disposed at different physical locations may improve the accuracy of positioning measurements. In AN extreme case, the

UE

201, 601 will not receive positioning reference signals from the AN 202, AN 602 sending the allocation configuration, but will only receive positioning reference signals from one or more different ANs.

The one or more ANs described above may have well-defined locations within a reference frame and the UE may be located within the reference frame. Reception characteristics (e.g., time delay, time difference, time of flight, angle of arrival (AoA), angle of departure (AoD), and/or signal strength) of the PRS may be measured and a location of the UE may be estimated based on the reception characteristics. As a general rule, PRS defines a signal with a well-defined signal shape, e.g. encodes a well-defined bit sequence and/or includes symbols with proper phase and amplitude. PRSs may be used to facilitate positioning. PRSs may be transmitted and/or received (transmitted) in well-defined time-frequency resources. Based on a priori knowledge about PRS, reception characteristics such as amplitude, phase path loss, travel time, and/or angle of arrival, etc., may be determined.

Generally, AN processing both transmits allocation configuration to a UE and receives positioning data from the UE. In some cases, the AN sending the allocation configuration to the UE may be different from the AN receiving the positioning data. For example, AN that sends AN allocation configuration to a UE may also provide AN allocation configuration to AN LS. The AN receiving the positioning data may obtain the allocation configuration from the LS together with the allocation request message.

Aspects of the disclosure may be summarized as follows. The 3GPP Rel-16 specifies various positioning technologies to support management and business use cases. Rel-17 NR positioning addresses the higher accuracy positioning requirements arising from new applications and the vertical industry. Enhancements and solutions meeting the following exemplary performance objectives will be studied and specified. For general commercial use cases (e.g., TS 22.261): sub-meter level positional accuracy (< 1 m) is envisaged, and for IIoT (industrial internet of things) use cases (e.g., 22.804), positional accuracy below 0.2m is foreseen. Target latency requirement <100ms; for some IIoT use cases, a latency on the order of even 10ms is desirable.

An access & mobility function (AMF) of an NR (new radio) positioning architecture may receive a request for a location service associated with a UE. The AMF then sends a location services request to a Location Management Function (LMF), where it has a connection to an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) defined by the 3gpp 5g protocol. The E-SMLC or Location Server (LS) has NR/E-UTRAN (evolved UMTS terrestrial radio Access network defined by the 3GPP 5G protocol) access information. For example, the LS may trigger positioning measurements at the UE. When DL-TDOA (Downlink-Time Different of Arrival, downlink arrival time difference) or DL-AoD (Downlink-Angle of Departure, downlink departure angle) is used, the UE performs positioning measurements based on Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) from the AN, in particular the gNB. PRSs are typically sent from multiple gnbs periodically and simultaneously. The UE performs Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurements and/or Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements. The UE sends a location measurement report back to the E-SMLC via one of the gnbs. The E-SMLC calculates a location estimate based on the received location measurements. From this simple illustration, it can be observed that the end-to-end latency can involve many signaling paths in both the core network and the radio access network.

Also, signaling in a conventional radio access network may be described as follows. The LS sends a location measurement request to the UE via the LPP protocol (and transparent to the gNB). The UE performs measurements within the measurement gap, particularly when PRSs from multiple gnbs are scheduled. Once the UE obtains positioning measurement data, the UE sends an uplink Scheduling Request (SR) to the serving gNB. The serving gNB sends the corresponding UL grant in a downlink control channel (PDCCH). The UE may then send a location measurement report to the LS in an uplink data channel (PUSCH).

Considering that NR Rel-17 targets significantly lower end-to-end latency, any attempt to reduce signaling may be beneficial in order to reduce latency and meet latency requirements. It is therefore proposed to introduce a way to avoid scheduling requests.

The proposed method enables/allows the UE to send a positioning measurement report within a pre-configured period of time after receiving a positioning measurement request. Thus, signaling between the positioning measurement request and the positioning measurement report may be reduced. After receiving the location measurement request, the UE may expect to receive a configured Uplink (UL) grant, where the uplink allocation is to be used for location measurement reporting. Also, the configured UL grant is allocated by the AN (e.g., gNB) with respect to transmission of PRS transmissions.

In terms of the procedure, the proposed method can be described as follows. In the pre-configuration phase, the UE may indicate to the gNB via its capability signaling, e.g., via RRC/LS, whether the UE supports such new operations. The gNB indicates to the UE the parameters (configured grants) for all possible options of Uplink (UL) transmission carrying positioning measurement reports. Depending on the positioning measurement report size, there may be a number of positioning reporting options:

POS_rep type 1 (param: number of bits: X1, T/F resource)

POS_rep type 2 (param: number of bits: X2, T/F resource)

POS_rep type 3 (param: number of bits: X3, T/F resource)

T/F may relate to time/frequency resource allocation, and X1 to X3 may represent values of the number of bits. There may also be generic parameters applied to the POS_rep type described above, such as T/F offset from PRS allocation. Some of the parameters may be predefined (e.g., in a specification). For example: the size parameter is reported. The larger measurement report may comprise multiple reports, e.g., RSTD reports, RSRP reports, results from many gnbs, and/or a combination of non-RAT related reports (GNSS, bluetooth, etc.). In contrast, a small measurement report, which may for example only contain RSTD, is generated by several gnbs. In practice, the gNB may enable multiple configurations as described above or only one configuration.

In the trigger phase, the UE may receive a location request message from the LS, wherein it also indicates that the UE may transmit location data at a predetermined time. The LS may also indicate the serving gNB of the UE to enable/allocate resources for positioning measurement reporting. The predetermined time for locating the data may for example start from:

i. subframes when the UE receives a position measurement (pos meas) request; or alternatively

A first subframe when the UE receives DL-PRS; or alternatively

Last subframe when the UE receives DL-PRS; or alternatively

The time offset between the DL-PRS subframe and the predetermined time of positioning data is named as T offset.

During the measurement reporting phase, the UE reports measurements using configured grant uplink resources according to pre-configured resources. The gNB may allocate:

i. a configured authorization

A plurality of configured authorizations.

Regarding the plurality of configured grants, the UE needs to select one that suits its needs (e.g., positioning measurements are good enough, depending on the required waiting time or the required accuracy).

Although the disclosure has been shown and described with respect to a certain preferred embodiment or embodiments, equivalents and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of the specification. The present disclosure includes all such equivalents and modifications, and is limited only by the scope of the following claims.

In summary, at least the following examples have been described above, wherein technical features specified in the examples are followed by reference numerals placed in brackets in connection with the features to increase the understandability of the examples. These labels should not be construed as limiting the disclosure of the examples.

Example 1

A method of operating a wireless communication device, UE, (201) to provide positioning data (231) for determining a position estimate of the UE (201), the UE (201) being connected to a communication network (104) via a radio link (105), the method comprising the steps of:

-receiving AN allocation configuration (244) of one or more predetermined resources (331, 431, 432) from AN access node AN (202) of the communication network (104) for transmitting the positioning data (231);

-obtaining a location request message (246) from a location server node LS (203) for providing said positioning data (231); and

-transmitting the positioning data (231) in response to the location request message (246) over the radio link (105).

Example 2

The method of example 1, wherein the location request message (246) from the LS for providing the positioning data includes a low latency indication.

Example 3

According to the method of example 1 or 2,

wherein the step of receiving the allocation configuration (244) is performed before obtaining the location request message (246), or

Wherein the step of receiving the allocation configuration (644) is performed after obtaining the location request message (646).

Example 4

The method according to any one of examples 1 to 3, further comprising the step of:

-transmitting the positioning data (231) using one (531) or more (531, 532, 533) of the one or more predetermined resources (531, 532, 533).

Example 5

According to the method of example 4,

wherein the location request message (246) comprises an indication of the one or more predetermined resources (531, 532, 533).

Example 6

According to the method of example 1 or 3,

wherein the location request message (246) comprises an indication that the predetermined resources (331, 431, 432;531, 532, 533) according to the allocation configuration (244) are not used.

Example 7

The method of example 3 or 4, further comprising the steps of:

-selecting one or more predetermined resources (531, 532, 533) from said one or more resources (531, 532, 533) based on one or more predetermined criteria.

Example 8

The method of example 7, wherein the predetermined criteria includes at least one of:

-a type of the positioning data (231);

-a size of the positioning data (231);

-latency requirements of the positioning data (231); and

-positioning accuracy of one or more positioning measurements.

Example 9

The method according to any one of examples 1 to 8,

wherein the location request message (246) further comprises an indication of one or more location measurements associated with the location data (231).

Example 10

The method according to any one of examples 1 to 9,

wherein the allocation configuration (244) comprises an indication of the one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432;531, 532, 533) of at least one of:

another resource used for transmitting the location request message (246) over the radio link (105),

positioning occasions (310, 410, 510) in which the UE (201) monitors positioning reference signals PRS (211, 212, 213),

a first subframe of the positioning occasion (310, 410, 510),

-a last subframe of the positioning occasion (310, 410, 510).

Example 11

According to the method of example 10,

wherein the allocation configuration (244) comprises a time offset of the one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432;531, 532, 533) with respect to at least one of:

a first subframe of the positioning occasion (310, 410, 510),

-a last subframe of the positioning occasion (310, 410, 510).

Example 12

According to the method of example 10 or 11,

wherein the allocation configuration (244) comprises a frequency offset of the one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432;531, 532, 533) with respect to:

the frequency of the positioning reference signals (311, 312, 313;411, 412, 413;511, 512, 513) received during the positioning occasion (310, 410, 510).

Example 13

The method according to any one of examples 1 to 12, further comprising the step of:

-providing the LS (203) with an indication (241) indicating that the UE (201) is capable of

-receiving (244) from the AN the allocation configuration for transmitting the positioning data of one or more predetermined resources, and

-obtaining from the LS (203) the location request message (246) for providing the positioning data (231).

Example 14

The method according to any one of examples 1 to 13, further comprising the step of:

-not receiving an uplink grant (292) allocating resources for transmitting positioning data between obtaining the location request message and transmitting the positioning data, and/or

-not sending an uplink scheduling request (291) for resources for sending positioning data.

Example 15

A method of operating AN access node, AN, (202) of a communication network (104), a wireless communication device, UE, (201) being connected to the communication network (104) via a radio link (105) between the AN (202) and the UE (201), the method comprising the steps of:

-transmitting an allocation configuration (244) for transmitting positioning data (231) of one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432;531, 532, 533) to the UE (201) over the radio link.

Example 16

The method of example 15, further comprising the steps of:

-sending the allocation configuration (247) to a location server node LS (203).

Example 17

According to the method of example 16,

wherein the allocation configuration (247) comprises an indication of a predetermined criterion associated with the one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432;531, 532, 533).

Example 18

According to the method of example 17,

wherein the predetermined criteria includes at least one of:

-a type of the positioning data (231);

-a size of the positioning data (231);

-latency requirements of the positioning data (231); and

-positioning accuracy of one or more positioning measurements.

Example 19

The method of any one of examples 15 to 18,

wherein the allocation configuration (247) comprises an indication of the one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432;531, 532, 533) of at least one of:

a positioning occasion (310, 410, 510), wherein the AN (202) transmits a positioning reference signal (211, 212, 213),

a first subframe of the positioning occasion (310, 410, 510),

-a last subframe of the positioning occasion (310, 410, 510).

Example 20

According to the method of example 19,

wherein the allocation configuration (244) comprises a time offset of the one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432, 433) with respect to at least one of:

another resource used for transmitting the location request message (246) over the radio link,

a first subframe of the positioning occasion (310, 410, 510),

-a last subframe of the positioning occasion (310, 410, 510).

Example 21

According to the method of example 19 or 20,

wherein the allocation configuration (247) comprises frequency offsets of the one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432;531, 532, 533) with respect to:

-frequency of positioning reference signals (211, 212, 213) transmitted during the positioning occasion (310, 410, 510).

Example 22

The method of any one of examples 15 to 21, further comprising the step of:

-allocating said one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432;531, 532, 533).

Example 23

The method of any one of examples 15 to 21, further comprising the step of:

Obtaining an allocation request message (245) from a location server node LS (203) of the communication network (104) for allocating one or more of the one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432;531, 532, 533) for transmitting the positioning data (231) on the radio link (105),

-allocating the one or more predetermined resources on the radio link (105) in response to obtaining the allocation request message (245).

Example 24

According to the method of example 23,

wherein the allocation configuration (644) is sent in response to the location request message (645).

Example 25

The method of any one of examples 22 to 24, further comprising the steps of:

-receiving the positioning data (231) on one or more of the allocated predetermined resources.

Example 26

The method of example 25, further comprising the steps of:

-in response to receiving the positioning data (231), deallocating the allocated one or more predetermined resources.

Example 27

The method of any one of examples 23 to 26, further comprising the step of:

-not transmitting an uplink grant (292) to the UE (201) indicating the allocation of the one or more predetermined resources.

Example 28

A method of operating a location server node, LS, (203) of a communication network (104) to obtain positioning data (231) from a wireless communication device, UE, (201) connected to the communication network (104) via a radio link (105), the positioning data (231) being used to determine a location estimate of the UE (201), the method comprising the steps of:

-providing a location request message (246) for providing the positioning data (231) to the UE (201), wherein the location request message (246) comprises a low latency indication.

Example 29

The method of example 28, further comprising the steps of:

-receiving an allocation configuration (247) of one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432;531, 532, 533) for transmitting positioning data (231) by the UE (201) via the radio link (105) from an access node (202) connected to the UE (201) via the radio link (105).

Example 30

According to the method of example 29,

wherein the location request message (246) comprises an indication of one or more of the one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432;531, 532, 533) according to the allocation configuration (244),

Wherein the one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432;531, 532, 533) are to be used for transmitting the positioning data (231) by the UE (201) on the radio link (105).

Example 31

According to the method of example 29 or 30,

wherein the location request message (246) comprises an indication that the predetermined resources according to the allocation configuration (244) are not used.

Example 32

The method of examples 28-31, further comprising the steps of:

-providing AN allocation request message (245) for allocating one or more predetermined resources to AN access node AN (202) or the access node over the radio link (105).

Example 33

A wireless communication device, UE, (101) the UE comprising:

interface circuitry (181) for connecting the UE (101) to a communication network (104) via a radio link (105),

a memory circuit (161),

a processing circuit (171),

wherein the processing circuit (171) is configured to

Example 34

The wireless communications apparatus (101) of example 33,

wherein the processing circuit (171) is further configured to perform the method according to any one of examples 1 to 14.

Example 35

AN access node, AN, (102), the AN comprising:

interface circuitry (182) for communicating within a communication network and for communicating with a wireless communication device (UE) 101 via a radio link (105),

a memory (162),

a processing circuit (172),

wherein the processing circuit (172) is configured to:

-transmitting an allocation configuration (244) for transmitting positioning data (231) of one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432;531, 532, 533) to the UE (201) over the radio link (105).

Example 36

The access node (102) of example 35,

wherein the processing circuit (172) is further configured to perform the method according to any one of examples 16 to 27.

Example 37

A location server node, LS, (103), the LS comprising:

an interface circuit (183) for communicating within the communication network (104),

A memory circuit (163),

the processing circuit (173),

wherein the processing circuit (173) is configured to:

-providing a location request message (246) for providing positioning data (231) to a wireless communication device, UE, (201), wherein the location request message (246) comprises a low latency indication.

Example 38

The location server node (103) of example 37,

wherein the processing circuit (173) is further configured to perform the method according to any one of examples 29-32.

Example 39

A computer program or computer program product or computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when processed by a processing circuit of a UE, cause the UE to perform the method of any of examples 1 to 14.

Example 40

A computer program or computer program product or computer readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when processed by processing circuitry of AN, cause the AN to perform the method of any of examples 15 to 27.

Example 41

A computer program or computer program product or computer readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when processed by processing circuitry of an LS, cause the LS to perform the method of any of examples 28 to 32.

Claims

1. A method of operating a wireless communication device, UE, (201) to provide positioning data (231) for determining a position estimate of the UE (201), the UE (201) being connected to a communication network (104) via a radio link (105), the method comprising the steps of:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the location request message (246) from the LS for providing the positioning data includes a low latency indication.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising the step of:

-transmitting the positioning data (231) using one (531) or more of the one or more predetermined resources (531, 532, 533).

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the method comprises,

6. The method according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising the steps of:

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the predetermined criteria comprises at least one of:

-a type of the positioning data (231);

-a size of the positioning data (231);

-latency requirements of the positioning data (231); and

-positioning accuracy of one or more positioning measurements.

8. The method according to any one of claim 1 to 7,

9. The method according to any one of claim 1 to 8,

a first subframe of the positioning occasion (310, 410, 510),

-a last subframe of the positioning occasion (310, 410, 510).

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the method comprises,

-positioning occasions (310, 410, 510) in which the UE (201) monitors positioning reference signals PRS (211, 212, 213).

A first subframe of the positioning occasion (310, 410, 510),

-a last subframe of the positioning occasion (310, 410, 510).

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10,

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising the step of:

-providing the LS (203) with an indication (241) of: the UE (201) being capable of receiving from the AN the allocation configuration (244) of one or more predetermined resources for transmitting the positioning data, and

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising the step of:

14. A method of operating AN access node, AN, (202) of a communication network (104), a wireless communication device, UE, (201) being connected to the communication network (104) via a radio link (105) between the AN (202) and the UE (201), the method comprising the steps of:

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of:

-sending the allocation configuration (247) to a location server node LS (203).

16. The method according to claim 15,

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, further comprising the step of:

18. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, further comprising the step of:

19. The method according to claim 18,

wherein the allocation configuration (644) is sent in response to the allocation request message (645).

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, further comprising the step of:

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of:

22. A method of operating a location server node, LS, (203) of a communication network (104) to obtain positioning data (231) from a wireless communication device, UE, (201) connected to the communication network (104) via a radio link (105), the positioning data (231) being used to determine a location estimate of the UE (201), the method comprising the steps of:

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of:

-receiving an allocation configuration (247) of one or more predetermined resources (331; 431, 432;531, 532, 533) from an access node (202) connected to the UE (201) via the radio link (105) for transmitting positioning data (231) by the UE (201) via the radio link (105).

24. The method according to claim 23,

25. A wireless communication device, UE, (101) the UE comprising:

a memory circuit (161),

a processing circuit (171),

wherein the processing circuit (171) is configured to:

-receiving AN allocation configuration (244) for transmitting positioning data (231) of one or more predetermined resources (331, 431, 432) from AN access node AN (202) of the communication network (104);

26. The wireless communication device (101) of claim 25,

wherein the processing circuit (171) is further configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 13.

27. AN access node, AN, (102), the AN comprising:

a memory (162),

a processing circuit (172),

wherein the processing circuit (172) is configured to:

28. The access node (102) of claim 27,

wherein the processing circuit (172) is further configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 14 to 21.

29. A location server node, LS, (103), the LS comprising:

a memory circuit (163),

the processing circuit (173),

wherein the processing circuit (173) is configured to:

30. The location server node (103) according to claim 29,

wherein the processing circuit (173) is further configured to perform the method of any one of claims 22 to 24.